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Hiking up Mountains

Ok...I just hiked Pleasant Mountain in Denmark/Bridgeton area. I really enjoyed it and want to hike other local mountains with the goal being MT Washington this fall before the snow flies again up there.

Does anyone have advice on other mountains to try.... to work my way upward to the goal?

Pedalchick and I will be climbing Tumbledown this weekend (Map 19 in the Gazetteer). 1.5-2 hours up depending on your skill, and if you take the brook trail, there is a three part multicache on the way up. West Kennebago (Map 28) is on our maybe list too. TAT put a cache up there that gets visited 1-2 times a year, usually on the fourth of July.

Are there good books that recommend the hikes. I made it to the top of Pleasant in 45 minutes with one stop. I certainly could have paced myself a little better. lol Heart was beating like the cartoon characters!!! But for a city boy..not bad. lol

I want to advance my knowledge and be safe while doing it. I am likely to be doing this alone as my wife isn't up to it.

So I don't want to be walking the..ah..Knife's Edge on Kathadin anytime soon. :-)

There is several books for this. There is one called 50 hikes in Maine or something like that. An idea to think about is to look at the Appalachian Trail though out Maine and see what mountains it goes over and you will usually find places to park you car and do day hikes up those mountains. Even better through on a backpack and do and overnighter. I am doing one this this weekend if all goes well on Wyman mountain in Andover.

Ok...I just hiked Pleasant Mountain in Denmark/Bridgeton area. I really enjoyed it and want to hike other local mountains with the goal being MT Washington this fall before the snow flies again up there.

Does anyone have advice on other mountains to try.... to work my way upward to the goal?

I want to try Old Spec, has anyone heard anything about that?

Thanks,

LWA11

Rattlesnake Mountain (trail head in Raymond) is fun if you're looking for a nice view of Sebago and surrounding lakes without the crowds like Douglas can have. There's also enough trail up and then around the mountain to get a good workout. There was a geocache up there but I think it was stolen which is too bad since it was a good cache when we found it.

Hikes with a view

If you check out our profile on Geocaching.com we have a bookmark list of " Hikes with a view " short description on each. Why not if you are going to hike grab a cache along the way. I will be headed to Roberts Mtn soon, overlooks Lake Winnepasaukee. 2 hour round trip plus a couple of other quick caches. Kayakerinme and I had planned as soon as he gets back from Geowoodstock 4. Let me know if you are interested. Plan to do Mt. Kennebago too this summer, sounds like this could be a group thing.

Why not live life like it is your last day....instead of pretending to be a member of the Peter Pan Club and believing you will be around forever.

Has anyone run into a bear or bears? What do you do? Since I grew up in Portland, the idea of being mugged has crossed my mind enough that I think I could react appropriately to avoid it.

Now a bear, no idea..... you read make noise, play dead, back away and yet you read reasons why not to do those as well. So do you run into them often on trips up mountains?

The odds of you just running into a bear are pretty slim. THey are very timid. Now realize someone will, I'm sure tell you of a story that happened to them once. I to was chased by a bear but that was a fluke. The one thing that you never want to do is get between the cubs and momma bear. That might be a bad thing. I can count on one hand all the bears I "stumbled" across in the maine woods. I would be more affraid of being mugged in Lewiston Auburn then worry about bears. However I do carry a firearm when in the woods. Well I carry a firearm when I am not in the woods but that doesnt matter. Be aware of you surroundings and the season. In the spring the mom animals are very protective of the new borns and in the fall the males are ready to mate and sometimes they dont want you in there territorie. Good luck and happy trails